Summary
Overview
Work History
Education
Skills
Accomplishments
Certification
Affiliations
Languages
Interests
Timeline
Generic

JUSTINE MUGABO

South Portland

Summary

Experienced Intercultural Program Coordinator with supporting background in community service, customer service management, and supervision of staff and volunteers. Skilled in: Developing, presenting, and evaluating peer support, outreach, and educational programming primarily in immigrant community. Establishing and enhancing collaborations and facilitating intercultural communication with clients, staff, social service agencies, and educational institutions. Contributing to organizational DEI and conducting multicultural training and supporting immigrants in dealing with barriers to success integrating educational, career, social, and basic needs. Shaping and leading highly effective teams and building enduring business relationships. Fluent in English, French, and Kinyarwanda.

Overview

27
27
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification

Work History

Intercultural Program Coordinator

The Center for Grieving Children
02.2021 - 04.2025
  • Led team 17 Program Facilitators, Cultural Ambassador, and 2 AmeriCorps Interns to facilitate peer support, outreach, and education primarily in immigrant community for organization supporting grieving children, teens, families, and the community.
  • Oversaw programming for one elementary and two middle schools and networked within agencies and community to increase awareness of programs.
  • Collaborated with clients, staff, social service agencies, and schools to ensure children were well supported and enabled to express feelings safely around grief and loss.
  • Developed, promoted, presented, and evaluated programming to build relationships and trust.
  • Assisted with fundraising, contributed to budget development, and wrote annual report of activities.
  • Assisted in recruitment and collaborated with Training Coordinator to present 30-hour intercultural program to train interns and volunteers as Facilitators to support children and families.
  • Enhanced organizational DEI, recruiting first Facilitators from immigrant community (4 of 15 volunteers).
  • Built organizational awareness through presentations and service, resulting in $30,000 in contributions during past fiscal year.
  • Participated in ongoing DEI Work Group to develop, implement, and manage organizational DEI Plan.
  • Presented school-based in-service training to assist administrators, teachers, counselors, and social workers to work sensitively with grieving children, teens, and families.

Mobile Telephone Network
08.1998 - 07.2019
  • Held increasingly responsible customer service management roles for nationwide Internet and mobile services provider.
  • Led teams of up to 15 to handle sales, customer service, and billing/collections.
  • Oversaw operations to ensure customer service excellence, focusing on team-building to build trust and engagement.
  • Tracked sales, coached staff, and conducted performance evaluations.
  • Positions included:
  • Manager, Headquarters Service Center, Kigali, Rwanda: 6/25/15-7/9/19. Led team of 15.
  • Supervisor, Service Center, 4/21/03-6/25/15. Rotated through 5 Service Centers, leading team of 10.
  • Supervisor, Call Center, 04/15/02-4/21/03. Led team of 60 handling inbound/outbound service calls.
  • Customer Event Specialist, 8/17/98-4/15/02. Supported internal customers in activating/serving customers.
  • Major accomplishments:
  • Exceeded sales targets, increasing sales consistently by 20% over other Centers and receiving Best Service Center Incentive-based Award ten times.
  • Introduced and trained staff in strategy involving periodic service updates for VIP customers, resulting in increased sales, improved on-time payments, and better retention.
  • Mitigated severe parking limitation at new urban Center, increasing revenues significantly by creating program to make sales, customer service, and collections calls at customer sites.

Education

B.A.S. - Information Technology

Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology
01.2006

Skills

  • Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint; Outlook; and Internet use
  • Customer Service: Concierge, Ability, and Eppix; Reconciliation/Customer Care: iVend
  • Mobile Traffic: Winifoli; Financial Transactions: Mobile Money

Accomplishments

  • Led and coordinated weekly grief-support programming for immigrant and refugee children across three Portland public schools, working closely with school staff, AmeriCorps interns, transportation providers, and community volunteers.
  • Built strong, trusting relationships with immigrant youth, helping them process grief and trauma in a culturally relevant and emotionally safe environment.
  • Recruited and trained volunteers and AmeriCorps members, co-facilitating a 30-hour intercultural program training focused on peer support, trauma-informed care, and group facilitation skills.
  • Collaborated with local artists and community leaders to incorporate music, dance, and food into healing-centered programming, fostering belonging and connection.
  • Contributed to organizational growth by expanding DEI efforts—recruiting the first facilitators from immigrant communities, participating in the DEI workgroup, and delivering in-service trainings to educators and counselors.
  • Raised program visibility and engagement, helping secure over $30,000 in community donations in one fiscal year.
  • Recognized for compassion and leadership, valued by Portland Public Schools staff, colleagues, interns, and community partners for sensitivity, professionalism, and dedication.

Certification

  • Maine Boys to Men Training Institute, Portland, ME. Reducing Sexism and Violence, 2023.
  • National Alliance for Children’s Grief, National Symposium, Pittsburgh, PA. Research and clinical development skills to enhance service delivery, and professional networking to facilitate working with grieving children and teens, 2023.
  • Bridge to Belong and Connecting Differences: Compassionate Leadership in a World of Difference, 2023.
  • Center for Grieving Children, Portland, ME. Intercultural Training. Understanding grief and group process/practice to become skilled in facilitating intercultural discussion with children and families, 2020-22.
  • Live Again Rwanda Counseling and Training Services, Kigali, Rwanda. Counseling Skills Course, 2017.
  • American Red Cross: Adult and Pediatric First Aid/CPR/AED, 2023.
  • ProsperityME: Basic Money Management/Finance, 2021.
  • University of Maine: WelcomeME Hospitality Program. Customer Service Certified, 2020.
  • Portland Adult Education: Job Class Program, emphasizing attainment of employability competencies, 2020. IT Skills, including Microsoft Office.
  • Service Quality Institute, Kigali, Rwanda. Customer Care & Sales, 2017.

Affiliations

  • Double Hope Children, Portland, ME 2023-Present Board Member. Collaborate to develop mission, policy, programming, and resources for nonprofit assisting immigrant families to live stable and rewarding lives in Maine.
  • Lead marketing efforts to connect founder to personal network of area organizations and schools.
  • New England Career Consortium & Maine Career Development Association Conference 2023 Panel Member. Assisting New Mainers to Achieve Career Success, 2023.
  • In Her Presence, Portland, ME 2019-Present Board Member, 2020-Present. Collaborate to develop mission, policy, budget, programming, resources, and outreach for nonprofit facilitating language acquisition and career development for immigrant women.
  • Lead Volunteer, 2019-Present. Provide interpretation services, coordinate classwork assignments, and support immigrant women, including facilitating use of technology for communication and social networking. Work with leadership to identify and resolve barriers to success integrating educational, career, social, and basic needs.

Languages

French
Native or Bilingual
Kinyarwanda
Native or Bilingual
Swahili
Full Professional
Kirundi
Native or Bilingual
Lingala
Limited Working
English
Professional Working

Interests

I enjoy volunteering in my community to support immigrant families, elders, and people with disabilities I’m also interested in helping women gain language and job skills through my work with In Her Presence I love cooking for others, learning about wellness, and using technology to stay connected and help others grow

Timeline

Intercultural Program Coordinator

The Center for Grieving Children
02.2021 - 04.2025

Mobile Telephone Network
08.1998 - 07.2019

B.A.S. - Information Technology

Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology
JUSTINE MUGABO